LiAngelo Ball couldn't think of a team that would draft him after his Warriors workout

LiAngelo Ball was always going to face an uphill battle when he left UCLA (and then Lithuania) to prepare for the NBA draft. And as expected, the middle Ball brother wasn’t drafted this summer.

Yet, in the weeks leading up to the draft, reality began to set it for the once-confident LiAngelo. We saw in a recent episode of Ball in the Family that the Ball family agent, Harrison Gaines, briefed LiAngelo and LaVar of the slim draft prospects based on team feedback. When LiAngelo went on to tweak his ankle in a subsequent Warriors workout, a disappointed LiAngelo went from expecting to be drafted to discussing alternate routes to the NBA.

In this week’s episode, LiAngelo couldn’t name a team that he thought would draft him. (The exchange starts around the 11:45 mark)

“I’m not sure what team is picking me up,” LiAngelo said after an extended pause. “So, I’m just waiting right now.”

In a separate conversation during LiAngelo’s trip to Mexico with Lonzo Ball, Gaines tried to ensure LiAngelo that going undrafted wouldn’t spell the end of his NBA dreams.

Gaines said:

“Whether you’re drafted or not doesn’t mean that you’re not an elite player because we know who you are. Everybody’s journey is different. And how to get there. You gotta think of how many guys were successful in the league that were either undrafted or drafted late. You’ve improved so much in the past year — just from where you were going in to UCLA and where you’re at now — next year is gonna be even better. So, whatever path you have to take, we’ll make work. We’ll just see how everything plays out.”

LiAngelo ended up playing for the Los Angeles Ballers in LaVar’s JBA league after failing to receive a Summer League invite.

LiAngelo Ball couldn't think of a team that would draft him after his Warriors workout

Reality started to set in.

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